Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics
Volume:10 Issue: 1, Mar 2024

Through a survey conducted in West Azarbaijan province, northwestern Iran in 2022, infested fruits of Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Elaeagnaceae) were collected. Anarsia eleagnella Kuznetsov, 1957 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) was obtained from laboratory rearing. A parasitic wasp was collected in the rearing container that was identified under Hyssopus geniculatus (Hartig, 1838) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). This parasitoid is a primary ectoparasitoid and a new record of H. geniculatus on A. eleagnella. Also, the association of H. geniculatus with E. angustifolia and the family Elaeagnaceae is new. Notes on the diagnostic characters of H. geniculatus are provided and illustrations of A. eleagnella and H. geniculatus are presented. The feeding behaviour of A. eleagnella larvae is preliminarily studied. Finally, the colour variations of the collected H. geniculatus specimens compared to the published literature are discussed.

The data on biology and taxonomy of the new subspecies Bracon pallicarpus dorytomovorus Samartsev & Dokuchaev ssp. nov. are given. It was shown that in the Northern Okhotsk region, the wasps of the new subspecies are solitary univoltine parasitoids of the Dorytomus cinereus Hochhuth, 1851 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) larvae which feed on the central axis of the catkins of the willow Salix rorida Lakschevitz (Salicaceae). Having consumed the weevil larva, the parasitoid forms a cocoon inside the host's tunnel and overwinters as a pupa inside the fallen catkin. Bracon pallicarpus dorytomovorus ssp. nov. adults emerge the next year in the second half of May. The status of the specimens of the type series of B. pallicarpus pallicarpus Thomson, 1892 was specified and its differences from 30 closely related species are presented. Bracon schmiedeknechti Fahringer, 1927 was synonymised with B. pallicarpus pallicarpus (syn. nov.).

The present study reports new records of the Collembola (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) from the Bula Hyrcanian forest located in Mazandaran province, north of Iran. The results show two genera Spatulosminthurus Betsch & Betsch-Pinot, 1984 (Sminthuridae) and Wankeliella Rusek, 1975 (Tullbergiidae) and five species including Anurophorus alpinus Potapov & Stebaeva, 1990 (Isotomidae), Pseudosinella cf. decipiens Denis, 1924 and P. immaculata (Lie Pettersen, 1896) (Entomobryidae), Superodontella tyverica Kaprus, 2009 (Odontellidae), and Wankeliella bescidica Smolis & Skarżyński, 2004 (Tullbergiidae) are new records for Collembola fauna of Iran.

The genus Tricondylomimus Chopard, 1930 (Mantodea, Gonypetidae) is reported for the first time from India with the species T. coomani Chopard, 1930, based on a female specimen collected from Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India. This species was earlier reported only from Vietnam in the Oriental region. This is the third species of the tribe Iridopterigini (Gonypetidae, Iridopteriginae) that occurred in India. The extension in the distribution of the genus points to the high chances of T. coomani being reported from adjacent countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The geographical distribution of T. coomani and its resemblance with another group of insects is briefly discussed.

This paper reports a new addition to the national bumblebee fauna of the Indian Himalayas. The newly recorded species viz., Bombus cryptarum (Fabricius, 1775) (Hymenoptera, Apidae) is fully described from the Gurez Valley (Jammu and Kashmir) and Panamik (Ladakh) in the Western Himalayan range. Males of the B. cryptarum have thoracic dorsum and T2 lemon yellow without black hairs. Gonostylus with the anterior apical process with long hairs and penis valve greatly broadened and flared outwards. With the addition of a new record, the Indian Himalayan region is now represented by 57 species of bumblebees. The species diagnosis, current distributional range, and host plants of this species are also provided.

The present study was conducted to investigate springtail fauna of different ecosystems in Savadkuh County, southeast of Mazandaran province, during 2021–2022. Results of the current study led to the identification of 26 species, which were determined as new records for Savadkuh Collembola fauna. Additionally, a new species of Isotomurus Börner of the family Isotomidae is described from northern Iran. The new species, Isotomurus matanicus sp. nov. belongs to a species-group characterized by 3,3,1 trichobothria on Abd. II–IV, 3+3 laterodistal setae on ventral tube, and no seta on mucro. The main differences between I. matanicus sp. nov. and the other species determined in this study are summarized. The list of collected species with the description of the new species is given and illustrated.

This study reports the discovery of Corythucha arcuata (Say), a species previously unrecorded in the Republic of Kosovo. Nine individuals of this species were collected from an Oak tree during the investigation. The findings presented in this study enhance our knowledge of the distribution of C. arcuata within the Balkan region. This discovery underscores the importance of further research to elucidate the factors governing the presence or absence of this species in specific areas. Also, herein we made a list of all known alien-invasive species to Kosovo.

Andreimyrme substriolata (Chen, 1957) and Odontomutilla fletcheri Lelej, Terine & Girish Kumar, 2020 (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae) are newly reported from India. O. fletcheri was only recorded from Sri Lanka till now & A. substriolata was only known from various Southeast Asian countries (China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam), in the present study these species are discovered from India which pronounce the geographical affinities of India with Sri Lanka and Southeast Asian countries and vice versa. Diagnosis, figures, distribution maps and remarks of these species are provided.

The genus Piyumoides Leclercq, 1963 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) is a rarely reported genus of crabronid wasp, till now not much is known about the genus. In the present study, we are reporting for the first time the distribution of Piyumoides Leclercq, 1963 from the Indian subcontinent with the description of a new species Piyumoides indicus Amal & Girish Kumar sp. nov. from the Western Ghats. The newly described species closely allies with the Malaysian species P. hewitti (Cameron, 1908) by having a propodeal enclosure without bordering carinae, without distinct basal striae, and having a vestigial pygidial plate. A key to the species of the genus Piyumoides is also provided with illustrations of the new species.

In this study, Latrodectus revivensis Shulov, 1948 is recorded for the first time from Iran based on female specimens. This species was previously recorded from the eastern Mediterranean region. As a result, the number of Latrodectus species recorded from Iran is raised to six. A comparative diagnosis is provided for this species and other widow spiders previously recorded from the country. Latrodectus revivensis can be easily distinguished from its congeners by colouration, genitalic characters and the shape of the nest. This record represents the easternmost distribution limit of L. revivensis. An updated distribution map of Latrodectus species is also provided.

Damsel bugs (Hemiptera, Nabidae) are predatory insects belonging to the order of Hemiptera. During the spring-summer of 2021–2022, nabid specimens were collected from Guilan province and adjacent areas. In this study, three species (four subspecies) belonging to two genera were collected and identified: Himacerus mirmicoides (O.Costa, 1834); Nabis viridulus Spinola, 1837; Nabis pseudoferus pseudoferus Remane, 1949 and Nabis pseudoferus orientarius Remane, 1962, furthermore, four species (four subspecies) belonging to two genera were examined from the insect collection of the Natural History Museum of the University of Guilan (UGNHM) including Himacerus major (A.Costa, 1842); Nabis pseudoferus transcaspicus Remane, 1962; Nabis punctatus punctatus A.Costa, 1847 and Nabis capsiformis Germar, 1838. In this paper, based on the morphological characteristics and genitalia of males, brief diagnostic descriptions, illustrated identification key and digital images of species habitus were provided to facilitate the identification of Nabidae of Guilan province and its adjacent areas.

A new species of jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae), Afraflacilla goaensis Gawas & Tripathi sp. nov., is described, diagnosed and illustrated based on a single male specimen collected from a mangrove in Goa, India. Considering this finding, the genus Afraflacilla previously known from the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, is now documented for the first time in Goa. Finally, the Indian records of the genus Afraflacilla are mapped.

Baryscapus evonymellae (Bouché, 1834) (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) was rediscovered on Leucoma wiltshirei Collenette, 1938 (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) attacked by different parasitoids. This species had already been reported under different names; therefore, its inaccurate identifications were corrected. It was reared as a larval and pupal hyperparasitoid of two important primary parasitoids of L. wiltshirei including Brachymeria tibialis Steffan, 1958 (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae), and Dolichogenidea persica Abdoli, Mohammadi, Sedaratian-Jahromi & Farahani, 2023 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae). The last parasitoid-hyperparasitoid association is new. Its morphological characters were illustrated and its biological data and main characteristics were discussed.

Ants (Hym., Formicidae) have been recognized as vital components of arid ecosystems. Determining the diversity patterns of ants and the ecological factors behind these patterns is expected to improve our understanding of the functioning of arid ecosystems. Here, we explored patterns of ant species diversity and community composition along an elevational gradient (800 to 2800 m) in the arid area of Central Iran. The elevational gradient in ant diversity and the effects of environmental factors on various indices of ant diversity and species composition were investigated using generalized linear mixed models and variance partitioning analysis. We recorded 34 ant species of 12 genera and 8 tribes from 120 surveyed quadrats. Climate variables were the most important predictors of ant community structure. Indices of ant alpha diversity including Hill numbers and taxonomic diversity increased with elevation. Hill numbers were negatively influenced by temperature, while they were positively affected by precipitation. The observed diversity pattern could be explained by the diversity-productivity hypothesis. In our study area, the maximum primary productivity and consequently the maximum species diversity occurred at high elevations, where precipitation is high and temperature is lower than the extremes that could limit plant productivity. Ant assemblages are expected to become increasingly composed of warm-tolerant species in response to warmer and drier conditions driven by climate change. The distribution of species with lower heat tolerance will be limited to high-elevation areas in Central Iran. These areas could act as refuges for ants and should be considered priorities for conservation